Under the moniker Forest Swords, Matthew Barnes draws out the devilish side of dub and instrumental hip-hop, with flickering samples set against drums that might be described as knocking if it weren’t for the cavernous reverb of his productions. “The Highest Flood” is Barney’s first studio material in four years, following his great second album Engravings, and it ups the drama of his nocturnal sound with martial percussion and choral parts, sounding something like a Hudson Mohawke macho stomper if it were performed at the bottom of the river Styx. Listen below via Spotify.
